Three airmen died Jan. 5 in Shir ghazi in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, announced the Defense Department. Killed were: TSgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City, Mich.; SrA. Bryan R....

President Obama, unveiling the nation’s new defense strategy at the Pentagon Thursday, said the strategic review that the Pentagon conducted would have been necessary whether the nation was in financial crisis or not. Now that the war in Iraq is...

The country is now at a “strategic turning point,” after a decade at war and large defense expenditures, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday during the rollout of the Obama Administration’s new defense strategy. While the...

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday emphasized that the United States “must have the capability to fight” in more than one conflict simultaneously, specifically mentioning possible overlapping conflicts with Iran and North Korea as an example of why the nation...

With a newer and smaller, but more agile force, as outlined by the new US defense strategy, the United States will rebalance its global posture in the coming years, said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday. The emphasis will be on...

Air Frame: Year in Review, April 2011: President Obama waits in the White House's Blue Room on April 28, 2011, before announcing his intent to nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta to replace Robert Gates (second from right) as Defense Secretary and Army Gen. David Petraeus (far right) to lead the CIA. On the day before, an unbalanced Afghan air force officer killed eight USAF air advisors and one US civilian contractor in a shooting incident in Kabul. Earlier in April, Obama outlined plans to cut the defense budget by $400 billion by 2023 to help reduce the federal deficit. April also saw Beale AFB, Calif., named the stateside home of USAF's MC-12W Liberty surveillance fleet and the Pentagon terminate the F-35's F136 engine contract, and issue a new unified command plan stressing the Arctic's growing importance. White House photo by Pete Souza

Maintainers with the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Maintenance Group at Hancock Field in Syracuse are becoming well versed in the intricacies of keeping their parent wing’s MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft performing optimally. They are also playing an...

Airmen at Ramstein AB, Germany, hosted a team of doctors from the Bulgarian Military Medical Academy for a week-long orientation of the Air Force’s aeromedical evacuation operations. The agenda “spanned the entire aeromedical evacuation process from ‘A’ to ‘Z,'” said...

Commanders at the Air Force Academy on Thursday preferred charges involving sexual misconduct against three male cadets for violations against the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to an academy release. Each cadet's case is unrelated and occurred at different times over the past 15 months, said Col. Tamra Rank, the academy's vice superintendent. "Each case will be adjudicated independently and the accused in each case is presumed innocent until proven guilty," she said. Article 32 hearings—the equivalent to a civilian grand jury proceeding—are expected to occur in late January or early February. The academy superintendent will decide for each cadet if his respective case will go to trial. One cadet (class of 2011) is accused of misconduct, including engaging in an unprofessional relationship. The second cadet (class of 2012) had one charge preferred against him for aggravated sexual assault. The third cadet is facing four charges, including abusive sexual contact. "We expect the best from our cadets, and do not tolerate unacceptable behaviors," said Rank.

President Obama signed a bill into law that's designed to streamline airport screening procedures for service members and their families traveling on official orders. H.R. 1801, the Risk-based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act, gives the Transportation Security Administration six months to implement a plan "to provide expedited security screening services for a member of the armed forces, and, to the extent possible, any accompanying family member." The service personnel must be in uniform and present documentation indicating official orders for air transportation departing from a primary airport to qualify, according to the legislation. It also calls for TSA to establish standard guidelines for screening military uniform items, such as combat boots. Obama signed the legislation on Jan. 3. (AFPS report by Elaine Sanchez) (H.R. 1801 full text)